Where does your motorcycle passion comes from?

Wheels are wheels.. cant wait to see the Valiant!

deonp wrote: The front drivers seat and front passenger seat was 1 seat, like a bench.

My dad always tell that our whole family, ma, pa, boet & sus were sitting on the front seat of our Studebaker - when did the bucket seat ruin everything??

Back Row:
1. Fiat 850
2. Ford Escourt
3. Ford Capri
4. Ford Granada
RH row:
1. Jaguar XJ6
2. ???
3. Valiant Regal
Have I spoilt the fun?

Sorry!

I agree with Richard's list and I don't blame him for the ??? because I have tried all angles but cannot recognise it. Just not enough of it visible.

But back to the original intent of the thread. My first "bike" was one of those motorised bicycles (at the age of 16), but I very quickly convinced my dad that it was not good enough for the 10 kays to school, so I got a second hand Suzuki 50cc. In my first year at varsity I bought a seized Yamaha 305 2-stroke twin and fixed it (in my room at Simonsberg of course). It served me well and after I started working I could afford my first new Yamaha 750 triple. It was a great bike but as always, it eventually was not fast enough any more so I bought a Suzuki 1100 GSX, which I eventually sold when I was told that the kids are small and they don't want to grow up without a dad. After a long lay-off I came back into biking and got my first Beemer and the rest is history. Biking has been in my blood since I was a kid and will always be. Nothing like the freedom it brings.

When I was a sixteen year old with more hormones than sense, I yearned (no...I lusted !) for a motorcycle - A Yamaha 125 twin as I recall. Being under 18, this was of course out of the question and my then girlfriend said it was all talk and I would NEVER have a motorcycle...and my parents agreed.

Fast forward five years. Now at University, a delightful Honda 450 Black Bomber came up and I took it for a spin - a serious buyer. Somehow, I couldn't get it to ride from Groenkloof to Centurion and back (a different girlfiriend) without cutting out due to a battery charging problem. I didn't buy it. But shortly after I got married, I bought a cute little blue Honda XL185 that took me to classes and back (dropping my son off at creche along the way) for a good number of years. Then I started working and I resolved to restore the Honda and took it to pieces to respray the frame as battery acid had damaged the frame and rear swingarm. Without warning, my father passed away and I had to keep a professional practice running, so motorcycles took a back burner for some years.

Fast forward another number of years. I had sold the Honda (still licensed) in boxes for R200 - just to clear out some space in the tool shed. I was 40 years old and the bug was nibbling away at me again. It was either a Yamaha XV1000 chopper (H-D ones were TOO pricey) or a Candy Apple Red BMW R80/7. Cut to the chase, the Candy Apple Red won and I joined the BMW clan. That was 14 years ago and I kept that bike for 11 of those years. Then one fateful Saturday morning, I went off the rails. In the space of 20 minutes, I had bought a Feb 1980 Candy Apple Red R100S with 30000km on the clock and swapped a July 1980 Candy Apple Red R80/7 with 128 000kms on the clock for a new desktop computer built to my specification.

I had broken up the relationship! A short 2 years later, I had done the unthinkable...I had found YET ANOTHER motorcycle. This time, I had spotted a 2004 R1200GS one Club night and the next morning at 7:30 I was parked outside Bavarian with chequebook in hand. While I did the deal, three more people came in to look and find out that they were too late. And so that continues to today. My Candy Apple Red is a keeper, being about 95% original and only 30 000kms. My GS already has more that!

When I turned 40, that girlfriend I spoke about in the second sentence of this posting (graduated PhD in Psychology) asked me:
"So what kind of 4x4 are you going to buy?" I didn't understand the question.
"When you men turned 40 or there abouts, you go off the rails and either take a mistress or buy a 4x4. I've known you for 24 years and you're not the 'mistress' type."

Well, I didn't buy a 4x4 - I bought the BMW instead. So by default, the two-wheeler that sometimes takes me away from home over weekends became known as "The Mistress".
This has raised eyebrows when my dear wife is asked where I am and replies: "He's away for the weekend with his mistress...!" It will usually get her a cup of coffee while they try to commiserate with her and she gets the chance to tell the story.

Well, that's the story of my passion for my motorcycles - my "mistresses" - and how much I love my wife for allowing me to keep them....

Great stuff Richard. A friend of mine had a Candy Apple Red R100S in the early 80's when I had my Suzuki 1100 GSX and I was always very green with envy on our b-fast runs, because although my Suzi was much faster, it just did not have the same "class", and somehow he always attracted the nice girls!

I always had some sort of interest in motorcycles. Did a lot of mountainbiking as a kid, and when I turned 21 years old my mom finally allowed my dad to buy his first motorcycle (BMW R60/6). Seeing that I was also very keen on it but still a student I could not afford one of my own, my dad made sure that there were at least 2 BMW's in the garage at any given time. My favourite was a R76/6. A beautiful bike, excellent for touring etc. etc.

Then one fateful Tuesday morning, gatvol of my job and just miserable in general, I decided that it is time for me to own my own bike. I phoned around, and by 2 o'clock that same afternoon I was the proud owner of a R1100GS. I did over 20 000km in the first year, most of it long distance traveling and at least half of it on dirt. Went to Mozambique at least 5 times, Swaziland, Lesotho and even up to the Caprivi. I changed jobs, and that had me driving to JHB everyday (I was not comfortable to commute those distances, it was just too dangerous). Eventually I sold the bike as I had so little time to ride it, and my romantic entanglement at that stage refused to ride with me...

Then last year I started having recurring dreams about a R1200 Adventure, and with some deft negotiation with my other half, I bought it mid December.

Where the passion comes from, I do not know. But I know that my personality craves freedom, craves nature, craves unknown destinations and craves constant new experiences. What else could give this to me than a bike? And what other bike than a BMW could see me do long distances in comfort?

I know that I will never be far from my bike for the rest of my life. I went to Ponta Malongane over the weekend as part of a diving party and the bike was left at home. All the little dirt roads that branched from the main artery and the sand roads in southern Mozambique had me shivering. Knowing that I had done them before, albeit years ago, made we want to do it again. And again. It was so nice to hop onto the bike again this morning. Just wish it was not to work...

Great responses Joe, Richard, Andre and Gert.

Thanks for sharing

Thanks for the topic. One is never too young to reminisce.

By the way, this is slightly off topic, but here goes. Went away for a weekend with people that are so amazingly scared to experience life. Everything they do, everything they think is calculated and an amazing amount of nonexistent risks are built into their decisionmaking. They are so afraid to live, to allow themselves to have a passion, irrespective of everything and everyone. Living one's passion adds to you as a person, adds to the memories you will hold when you are no longer capable to do whatever you want to. To be able to live, you need to feel alive. To feel alive, you need to continuously depart from the comfort zone you have created for yourself. Complacency kills the spirit.

anyway...

How did you get them to go away for the weekend - must have been a major decison just to get that far. Tend to agree with you - one needs to spice up your life and enjoy it, as safely as possible. Reckon the Beemers fall into the as safely as possible niche.

Posted on behalf of Mike Wright

My passion for bikes all started for me in 1965, at the tender age of 9, at Killarney race track in Cape Town. Watching those noisy, smoking machines, smelling of Castrol GTX, ridden by men in black leather suits, p-pot helmets and goggles, stirred something in me. My Dad was a rally driver and member of the WPMC during the 60’s and 70’s, and organized for me to sit on one of these 'monsters'. A Norton I think it was. Big mistake! I was hooked.

On a few years, moved to Pretoria in 1970, and in 1975, learnt to ride on a friend’s Kawasaki KZ 400 Triple. What a temperamental son of satan!!! Survived, and bought my first bike from Dave Celliers at Club Motors, an orange Honda CB550F in 1977. Rode to Cape Town and PE and was hooked on touring.

In 1979 I moved to PE and took up Club racing on my then CB 750F Honda. Got too expensive, was sponsored a 750 Honda from Sharwoods, and finally quit in 1982 (2nd Child was born). Since then, I have owned 13 bikes, 5 Hondas, 3 Kawasakis, 3 Yamahas and 2 BMWs, the smallest being a 550 cc, and my current GS, the best of them all!

Riding a bike, especially riding to different, far-away places with my wife as pillion, remains a passion, and never ceases to stir the emotions. Being able to ride with like-minded friends is a pleasure that I hope all bikers experience at least once in their lives!

Safe and happy riding

Regards
Mike Wright

Great story Mike.
So interesting to read how everyone started biking.

so sê ek ook mos.

Good story Mike......not bad for a "soutie"

......okay, I'm out of here

Hi mates

I think the love for motorcycles is a story of inheritance in our family.

Oupa was a courier in the 2nd World War with a Harley!
Dad loved is Norton Dominator!
I started with a Honda MB5 (What an ugly bike!) and ended with a RT

Regards
Rudi

At least you improved and did not follow in your Grandpa's footsteps - although he did not have a choice in the matter.

Well my tale is surely not as glorious as some of the previous posters.

Unlike others, I had no passion for biking through out my youth, it was actually free form flying that interested me.

To me the traffic was getting to me, already like 6 years ago, yet I was dead afraid of getting onto a bike. Well that changed as the fuel costs kept rising, until it became insanely crazy, which forced me to seriously look into the scooter or bike option. Then I thought about what would I like to do with my scooter/bike, just commute to work and back or also include exploring South Africa on bike. The later swayed me for the bike option.

Next option came up, do I want to stick to tar roads or also go into the mountains on the forest roads that I enjoy driving on when I go off flying. Again the adventurous side kicked in, leaving me no option other than to get a dual purpose bike. Ended up with 3 brands to choose from, only to settle on BMW with the F650GS. Something small for me to handle, though the 1200 looked rather enticing at times in Bavarian Motorcycles. I bought my bike in January and been riding almost every day since February.

Even after receiving my bike, I still had no passion. Buying a bike with no passion, just for cheaper transport! I sure enjoy commuting to work, for it was a hell lot more pleasant than driving, and doing short trips to the airfields with my bike. Even until last week, I can say I really had no passion for riding, just enjoying the more relaxed riding in the city.

Well that all changed yesterday when I did my first long distance and GS trip. Loving the trip, I can't wait to do another trip. So glad I bought a GS bike, for I can only now think about those Sappi mountain forest roads I love to drive on in the past, but this time on my bike. I believe I finally found my passion to ride.

Oh, I love your story - Thanks for sharing!
Shows you: It's never too late!

Hi all, Yeah well you ask where the passion comes from well mine came from when I was still very young (just the other day) we stayed on the Air Force base "Central Flying School" outside Dunnotar somewhere between Springs and Nigel, one of my late Fathers friends on the base with the name (his real name believe it or not) oom Van Winkel had a old Harley with a side car and at times he or my Father took a number of us kids for a ride around the base. Then in the early 70's during my last year or so in school I met some guys that rebuild and rode old British bikes and Harley's, (Donald and Gordon Watson, Lofty, Dada, Keith (had a wooden leg) also Marcel, Graham, Nicky, Basil, Koos, Kevin and more, some of them unfortunately not with us anymore. Then when I finished my national service I got my first BMW a old R50.

Ahh thanks Geolero!

- its about time this topic gets revived!

JR asked where your motorcycling passion comes from, and all I read about is 6 cars ? ?

I must have got my interest in bikes from both my Grandfathers.
They both had bikes, BSA's from memory.

When I was 16 (long time ago) two of my friends , both called Dave, had BMWs
One was a R60 (1964) and the other was a 69s.
I had ridden several different bikes, but the BMWs felt right, so as soon as I was able to, I bought a new R60/6 (1975) and rode it for 30 years (about 250,000 k's.)
In 2005 I purchased a 1994 K1100LT, and have done about 80,000 k's on that.
It is a bit quicker, and more comfortable than the old one.